Finally! Twitter Boots Pizzagate And QAnon Peddler

One of the more sordid anecdotes of the Donald Trump era has been the rise of far-right pseudojournalists who seem to make it their business to look for pedophiles under every rock. To hear them talk, nearly everyone who is anyone in the Democratic Party or in Hollywood is either a pedophile, running interference for pedophiles, or a peddler of material that puts children in danger.

It’s one of many reasons why Twitter has been a haven for trolling and harassment of the worst type. Anyone who gets smeared as a pedophile can expect to be bombarded with hateful tweets. Well, on Sunday, Twitter took a long-overdue step when it turned off the mic of a particularly notorious peddler of this drivel–Liz Crokin.

Crokin has been one of the louder promoters of Pizzagate, the bizarre conspiracy theory that claimed there was massive pedophilia ring based at a Washington pizzeria involving many prominent Democrats and celebrities. She has been an equally relentless peddler of Pizzagate’s bastard child, QAnon, which claims an anonymous Trump adviser is dribbling out information about Trump’s plan to open the trap door under a nest of pedophiles.

While Crokin claims to be a journalist, she’s actually a conspiracy theory peddler cosplaying a journalist. As evidence of this, she has long insisted that anyone who dares oppose Trump is a pedophile–or at the very least may be covering for pedophiles.

That appeared to be the basis for one of her latest smears, when she suggested that “Harry Potter” creator J. K. Rowling may have ties to pedophilia. Well, on Sunday morning, after some debate, I decided to report that tweet as targeted harassment. After all, it was eerily reminiscent of how Crokin falsely accused Chrissy Teigen and John Legend of pedophilia last year.

But when I opened up Twitter, I was greeted with this.

That’s right–Crokin’s Twitter account has been suspended. Crokin herself confirmed it on Instagram.

Considering the timing, it’s hard not to conclude that her swipe at Rowling at least played a role in this move. The real question, though, is why it took so long for Twitter to drop the hammer on Crokin. I’m still trying to figure out how she wasn’t suspended for her outrageous attack on Teigen and Legend last year.

Wth @jack?! First laura loomer and now @LizCrokin.you are so obvious. any explanations? Someone should start a spreadsheet to see how many left leaning tweets compare to the right and if they have been suspended or not. Let’s get the lawsuits rolling! Any lawyers out there?

Apparently those trying to make Crokin a martyr have very short memories. They seem to forget about at least two incidents in 2016 in which someone almost got killed because of Pizzagate. Most of you know about Edgar Welch, the bottom-feeder who drove from North Carolina to “self-investigate” Pizzagate, and fired an AR-15 into the restaurant. He pleaded guilty and is now serving four years in federal prison.

But you may not know that another tragedy may have been averted just three days later. Yusif Jones got the bright idea to call another restaurant near Comet Ping Pong and vowed to “save the kids” before shooting up the place. He pleaded guilty the following January, and faced up to five years in federal prison.

Now imagine if some so-called patriot or child defender took it upon themselves to go after Rowling, Teigen, Legend or anyone else Crokin smeared over the years. At the very least, she would be morally responsible–just like she and her fellow Pizzagate peddlers are morally responsible for those two near-tragedies in Washington.

Moreover, Crokin’s disgusting smears may make it harder for those who really have been victimized by sex trafficking to be believed. That’s rather ironic, considering that Crokin’s right-wing compatriots rail about how the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements put men at risk for being framed as sex predators.

Simply put, Crokin’s ouster from Twitter was long overdue–at least a year overdue, from where I’m sitting. See ya, Liz. And please, let the door hit you on your way out.

Darrell is a graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello, or donate on Patreon.